In many storage systems, it is desirable to provide efficient release of storage capacity, for example, as such storage capacity becomes available due to deletion of storage volumes, in order to better accommodate the input-output (IO) processing demands of system users. However, conventional approaches to storage capacity release can be problematic. For example, in content addressable storage systems, release of logical capacity is typically tightly coupled with release of corresponding physical capacity. This creates inefficiencies that can significantly undermine system performance.